I don't know about you man, but if I don't get my 8 hours of CONTINUOUS sleep, I'm grumpy and irritable. Note the word in caps, I cannot break up my sleep hours into say 6 and 2 or 4 and 4..It's gotta be continuous, or I'd have to start all over.. And also, I don't like taking naps..There's nothing more beloved to me in the world than sleep- and I think that says a lot about the world!

2- Talking a lot

I had been caught in a lot of horrible situations because of my non stop talking- harmless but nevertheless annoying to myself, in retrospect. However, I must also say that I am happiest when I've said all I wanna say to someone..Besides, I'm a good listener. and I express myself well, and I say lots of useful things like facts, advice, criticism, and all..so it's pretty good for the other party :)That's probably why some gals befriend me, and then get attached to me too strongly, and I start running away! And my saying my mind and more, and letting people see me that way makes me respect my friends more and trust them more because they don't care about my perks.. Perhaps I can just give up the not-being-able-to-keep-my-own-secrets part!

3- Giving family the silent treatment

While this puts me a risk of being called 7amqaa by my mom, I don't give a damn, it's much better than being rude to elders and speaking my mind (cuz' you never know what I might say).

4- Pitying myself

Self-pity is a part of my loving myself- since nobody's doing it, I might as well do it.

5- Listening to music

Come again? Music is bad?Si senor. Not many things in this world are absolutely bad and music has lots of good points, so I'm sticking to it- hopefully in moderation.

I usually spend the Merdeka day doing anything but celebrating it.This year I am silently shedding tears and sniffing.. and I'm warning you it's already started a day earlier..Before I go on babbling here's a brief- Merdeka (Malay for free) is the Malaysian Independence Day celebrated on 31st August.. I even remember the date we r comemorating (31st Aug 1957) becuz of the song .. Tanggal tiga puluh satu, bulan lapan, lima puluh tujuh..hari yang mulia , hari bahagia..

Why am I sniffing and crying?Because it's hard to not cry when this year had been so bad for Malaysians..First flight MH370 went missing midflight in March and then flight MH17 was downed in Donetsk in July.Thinking of their families is painful enough during the days of the tragedies, and during Raya..but now that some of the remains have been repatriated, it's become even more unbearable for me..Perhaps I had spent the first month being in the first stage of grief (denial and disbelief).And besides, did I tell you, I've had trouble shedding tears for quite a long time though I don't remember when it started.. people die(family) and I don't cry..But I am returning to being the emotional girl who my dad used to call 7aneenah (Arabic: حنينة loving)

I am sorry Malaysia.. I am sorry MAS.. I am sorry for everyone, not just the Malaysians..I feel so bad for the parents of Australia Mars.. I truly hope you find her and she finds you.

20.Persistently feeling annoyed/irritable can be a symptom of depression. 19. Chronic pain can be another. 18.The origin of the depression can be situational and/or bio-chemical. 17.Exercise is the easiest cure for depression.16. Depression takes on many disguises, including anxiety.15. Most major depressions do not occur during the holidays, they happen in summer.14. Self-mutilation is a way in which individuals show that they are depressed.13. Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression.12.Depressed people get colds more frequently than non-depressed people.11.It is believed that ~80% sufferers of depression are not receiving treatment.10.The average video gamer is typically 35-year-old male who is most likely depressed, overweight, and introverted.

Sometimes in my life all I have to do is say I want this this this... and it so easily comes to me.. I don't have to even think about it or run after it once I say it out loud.. I know that someone listens.. and grants ease after hardship .. and pities me whose heart is broken and whose purse was lost..and who knows I hate troubling people more than anything..Alhamdlillah, with patience and zikr, I was guided to people who helped me keep my head and make cool, calculated decisions. Alhamdulillah, my purse came back to me..Alhamdulillah, my face, which I was so worried would betray my emotions, was only depicting my very real worries about my purse.. my searching eyes had no time to portray sadness or shed tears..my head was totally absorbed with digging my memory of the day..Alhamdulillah, I reached back safely..Alhamdulillah, there are always people I can rely on..﻿Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest﻿"

I've been thinking (out of the blue, yes) about my obituary and all..Couldn't think of one ..Instead, I just came up with the following:

I wish that people would remember me as someone who's :1- never troubled others with any kind of favours2- never harmed others by word or action3- punctual4- helpful to people who know her5- always kept her promises6- always smiling7- kind & friendly to strangers, family, children and the elderly8- never been in debt (always returns money before people ask for it)9- generous10- trustworthy11- good at listening and someone whose:12- speech is kind words that are always helpful whether advice or ideas

1- whatever happens between u two should stay between u two.. don't divulge too much, lest others get annoyed with the marriage, or get a reason to talk about u, or envy you, or misuse that very information at the wrong time against you..

2- when there is a small fight, don't submit it to your parents.. parents love their children too much that they cant see their fault or allow compromise, and they're not forgiving of something done to their child, so sometimes their advice causes trouble.. (I've trouble keeping this point crisp and inoffensive towards parents.. but this is just something I've had the misfortune to witness some time back)

3- don't think of what you do as giving..understand that and you wouldn't have to work so hard

4- you're married, you didn't suddenly become transparent or your actions understandable..voice things u think about just as when u were courting her (pardon the old-fashioned terminology)..

sous le ciel de paris - Jacky Terrasson

Two months ago I had the pleasure of presenting a paper at a conference in Penang island, Malaysia-an event I was dreading that turned out wonderful.As we had the conference on a weekend, my friend and I took the Senandung Langkawi 20 night train from KL to Butterworth on that Friday. We arrived very early the next morning, and took the ferry (paid about RM2 or 3 per person, a kind of two ticket since the ferry from Weld Quay back to mainland is free) to Penang Island, and upon arrival at the jetty took a taxi from the RapidPenang bus terminal to the hotel (Heliconia Hotel, a small one but suffices for a couple that will be out most of the time, coming back only to shower and rest). As it was too early to check-in at the hotel we left our things at the hotel's store and went walking around enjoying the fresh air. We found a mosque, which was occupied by an old Indian man whose Malay words I could hardly discern(must be a Penang accent), to pray Fajr in and then had our first long walk in Georgetown. That area of Georgetown's (Lorong Kinta, Jalan Burma, near KOMTAR ) was quite disappointing however as we could hardly find any cafes even around 8 or 9am.After a tiring exploration that nearly ended at the beach, we finally returned to the kopitiam that was closed earlier (Old Town White Coffee) to sit down and have breakfast .The coffee was too strong for me and at some point I added water to it and sugar of course. I did/wanted to do the same to the lime juice I ordered after it.After an appetizing Nasi Lemak however I was energized and so we walked back to our hotel to check-in.Guess what we did after that?SleeeeeeeeeeeeepWe considered ordering food using Food Panda (found Kashmiri food and got all excited!!) but became lazier and lazier about going out to even accept the delivery.We did end up eating McDonalds/KFC later on however.

The following day we spent the whole day at hotel (Bayview hotel) and after that went back to rest for a while. The taxi driver, Mr. Vasan, who took us there was very friendly and eventually we took his card as he offered to show us around Penang whenever we wanted, at a very cheap fare.

On Monday, we went shopping at Prangin Mall and then we gave the taxi driver a call and went around.We went to St. George's church- that's South East Asia's oldest Anglican church. It was my first time in a church!!Here's where I learnt about the stations of the cross.I took pictures with the angels too.

Unfortunately, Penang Hill was closed that day, so we couldn't climb it. Instead, we went to the Botanic Gardens, a walk we enjoyed immensely and would never forget.I guess this is where we took the most pictures, and spent the most time. We took the RapidPenang bus No.10 ( a very useful way to get a bigger picture of daily life in Penang and a closeup of the people) back and checked out, again keeping our luggage at the hotel.

We then went to the Penang 3D Museum (got charged RM 40 here :( )Again, a fun place to visit, especially if you have a lot of time to take awesome 3D pictures.. Or if you want to learn about Penang's history in a fun way.

We went to a church, and then went to the Floating Mosque (at Tanjung Bungah ).. I was most upset here, because I suddenly had an upset stomach and had to use the toilet there- which to my disappointment didnt flush properly. Anyways, I was a mess and was really upset. :'''(The mosque itself was beautiful.

Finally, we hurried to Batu Ferringhi beach !!Sipping fresh coconut water with this close friend of mine, after worriedly watching & videotaping her parasailing , I lost all my worldly worries for a brief moment. It was time to go and get our luggage back and go to the jetty.Back in Butterworth, the railway station was under renovation and we were afraid for ourselves as it was dark and there were only 2 guys sitting nearby. They looked homeless, and later on one asked us for money to buy food, which we gladly gave. :(After eating the McD/KFC(they look the same from outside and inside, and you can get similar food so don't really remember which since we visited both) we had bought earlier and finding a place to pray (some sort of a shipping container), time was finally starting to pass and more people showed up.. We encountered a blind young man and helped him get about. I mention him because I met him in KL Sentral the next day and helped him again :) and I feel that I'll meet him again some day.

Postscript:You know all this time I've stayed in Malaysia, I've rarely looked at it from a tourist's perspective.I've seen it as an expat and sometimes as a Malaysian coz it's my second home- and very few people would go about acting as tourists in their own country.

سبحان مقلب القلوبToday, I started the day very late - at 2.30pm to be specific and you'd think that the worst part is over. How was I to know what a hell of a day it'd be?Well actually i had an idea; when my friend Whatsapped asking if i was sleeping, i replied "Ya... Y do i feel like there's bad news?"

For starters, I burnt my favorite shalwar kameez!I just spilled coffee over myself.And it's already 4.25pm and I have no ironed clothes with a matching scarf to wear to the lab.In half an hour, the lab that i need to use might be closed for the day.I am homesick, and I need to do a lot of shopping, and I can't possibly leave things and go home.By now my sample in the dryer has been in it for nearly 40 hours.. Which is bad, coz i only meant it to be there for 24 hours ..Worse still, I got invited to a wedding but I can't go with a partner, which means I have to find someone else who is willing to go and knows me and HAS BEEN INVITED!And thinking that I'd not be invited, I had not prepared for the going at all!! (tsk tsk doubting people's intentions)All this time I had been busy looking for a gift that I did not buy myself a new formal outfit (I really need one) and a purse (and a scarf to match probably) and wrapping paper! And I've only 1 or 2 days to prepare all this, because I have to spend one day at home this week in preparation for the arrival of the lady of the house !! :DNow despite all this unfortunate "hurry hurry" nagging eating at me, I've managed to stay positively unconcerned, like Abbie is someone else and not me. Been listening to jazz and classical music and drinking cold instant coffee that is gonna trouble me soon (I'm lactose intolerant and this one has a dairy creamer, because I boycotted Nestle's products.Duchess look at me, I managed to blog about my preoccupations that were supposed to keep me occupied.

I guess I am just thankful that I am alive still and I know that this too, whatever it is, shall pass.

So, have a good day peeps and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers, or point at the moon and stare in awe!

15. All Muslims are the same and all are either Sunni or Shi’a.Just see this for an idea:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_schools_and_branches just look at the contents list..

14. Islam puts little/no emphasis on education & development.Heard of algebra? algorithms?alchemy?chemistry? catgut suture? The canon of medicine? geodesy? While Europe was still in the Dark Ages, Muslim societies were making advancements in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art, and literature. In fact, the renaissance happened as a result of the ancient and new knowledge reacquired from Muslims universities.Muslim intellectual giants came to be known by their anglicised names: Albatenius, Alpharabius, Algazel, Avicenna, Kuhi, Alhazen, Averroes , Arzachel, Avempace, Algoritmi or Algaurizin, Thebit, Rhazes, Geber, Alkindus, Avenzoar, and Albumasr, for example.

The practice of purdah(persian for curtain) is said to have originated in the Persian culture and to have been acquired by the Muslims during the Arab conquest of what is now Iraq in the 7th century AD.

The Quran has no requirement that women cover their faces/hands with a veil, or cover their bodies with the full-body burqua or chador. Islam only requires both men and women to dress and behave modestly (e.g. lowering their gaze) in public. However, this requirement has been interpreted in many different ways by Islamic scholars (ulema) and Muslim communities (Wikipedia).

Simply put, the Purdah/Burqa/Niqab are all just traditions. When a tradition does not contradict Islam, a muslim/muslim group may adopt it.It does not however mean it becomes compulsory on all muslims or even on the muslims of that particular group/region.

12. Woman/Eve created from the rib of Man/adam

This view is biblical. Quran does not say so. I don't know if the hadeeth says so.. still researching on the matter. Shouldn't be a big issue, but Muslims these days love talking about this when talking about women so I need to find out..it's never good to spread what's not true.

11.Stoning to death allowed (e.g. for adultery)There are many 'hoos and haas' about this so-called missing Quranic verse..All I say is Allahu a'lam.Since it is more damaging to carry out a punishment so big, that was not placed in the Quran (the one book promised by God to never be corrupted, the one book which is mathematically miraculous), I'd not carry it out if such a day may come, for fear of illegally killing a life on purpose, whereas murder is a big sin- even if it is manslaughter.Besides, a punishment for adultery is already prescribed in the Qur'an.

10. Muslims are savage/barbaric at warQuite the contrary, when it comes to the conduct of war there are ten rules that every Muslim army must obey:

1. Do not commit treachery2. Do not deviate from the right path3. Do not mutilate dead bodies4. Do not kill children5. Do not kill women6. Do not kill aged men7. Do not harm or burn trees8. Do not destroy buildings9. Do not destroy an enemy’s flock, unless you use it for your food10. When you pass people who have devoted their lives to monastic services leave them alone.

﻿"God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just. -- Qur’an, al-Mumtahina 60:8 Freedom of religion is laid down in the Qur’an itself:"There is no compulsion (or coercion) in the religion (Islam). The right direction is distinctly clear from error". -- Qur’an, al-Baqara 2:256

9.Islam was spread at sword point.

See point above and go do some research for yourself.

8. Child marriage is rape/pedophilia by the then standards.Was God supposed to tell him to marry a 30 year old woman, instead of Aisha, just because in future people like you and me might exist to hate him when he did what was acceptable at that place, in those times?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha

Think, man, think!

7. Islam oppresses womenDuring pre-Islam Arabia women were used for fornication only and had no independence. The birth of a daughter in a family was considered humiliating and the practice of female infanticide was uncontrolled. With the advent of Islam to Arabia, women were freed. Firstly, verses in the Quran condemned the practice of female infanticide. Furthermore, Islam gave back many human rights to the woman and Muhammad(s) was even reported saying that “women are the twin halves of men.” A Muslim woman is allowed to reject and accept any suitor for marriage and has the right to seek divorce and has the right to inheritance.There is nothing in Islam that forbids a Muslim woman from exiting her house and is allowed to drive/ride horses, etc. Also in regards to education, a woman is obligated to seek knowledge and it is considered a sin if she refuses."Muslim advocacy groups point out that four out of the five countries with the largest Muslim populations — Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Turkey — have had female heads of state, something the United States cannot claim."-abcNews

6. Most Muslims are Arabs

Though Islam is often associated with Arabs, they make up only 15% of the world's Muslim population. Muslims make up 1/5th of the world's population.

5. Islam is intolerant of other faithsSee point about Muslims are savage about war.

3. The crescent moon is a universal symbol of IslamThe early Muslim community did not really have a symbol. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islamic armies and caravans flew simple solid-colored flags (generally black, green, or white) for identification purposes. In later generations, the Muslim leaders continued to use a simple black, white, or green flag with no markings, writing, or symbolism on it.It wasn't until the Ottoman Empire that the crescent moon and star became affiliated with the Muslim world. When the Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol.

http://islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm

﻿2. Muhammad is the founder of Islam.﻿Islam is an Abrahamic religion, and Muslims believe it was adopted as a way of life and taught by the prophets of Islam from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohamed, and many others in between those names we mentioned. Mohamed is only but one of these prophets- the last one of them and thus with the complete message of God, with its permanent rulings for the whole of Mankind.

1. Muslims worship a moon-God/pagan Arabian idol/diety

Islam is a call to the one true god, not an existing pagan diety.Allah is the Arabic word for God (al ilāh, literally "the God").The word has cognates in other Semitic languages, including Alah in Aramaic, ʾĒl in Canaaniteand Elohim in Hebrew.It is used mainly by Muslims to refer to God in Islam,but it has also been used by Arab Christians since pre-Islamic times.The name was previously used by pagan Meccans as a reference to a creator deity, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among religious traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not considered the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters–a concept that was deleted under the process of Islamization. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name, and all other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah.Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and the omnipotent.Meccans worshipped him and Al-lāt, Al-‘Uzzá, Manāt as his daughters. This is clearly mentioned in the Quran.Islam denounce pagan rites and idol worship and the concept of intercession (priests, prayer in some places only, holy people/saints, babtism, etc)We do not worship the kaabah, we pray towards the direction that was mentioned on the Quran as the House of Allah (the God, not the one who was made into an idol and has sons and daughters,).It pisses people off to leave what is easy (worshipping idols, polytheism, and rituals to appease their gods), and what they found their parents (and society) already worshipping.. However, isn't it so much more rational to worship one God? Nobody admits it, but just look at Hindus for example, they choose a diety for their house rather than worship all forms/avatars of their God the whole time. Some have laxmi, some durga, some ganesha, some ambe, some krishna, some shiva and some worship kali.The truth is out there!

It is only fitting that since this is the blog on the thoughts of a polyglot that this polyglot should at least talk about polyglotism once.So, let's start the way we learnt in school- by defining polyglotism. According to Wikipedia, the source for everyone, from everyone, polyglotism (or polyglottism) is the ability to master numerous languages. Multilingualism is a word with a similar meaning.Literally speaking, 'poly' is many and 'glot' is tongue..A person with many tongues. A person who speaks many tongues (languages).

Now I consider myself as a polyglot, though I don't consider myself to have mastered these languages at the same level ( which is a biiiig problem with polyglotism) :

So in a way, I'm a hyperpolyglot.. though my french listening/speaking skills suck, though my hindi writing skills suck, and though I haven't spoken 10 words of spanish in 5 years and haven't had to listen to it for long periods of time since 2006..

This is a dream I had (13th August 2014) that was so complex, that when i woke up the first thing i did was Google up the name Megan Beth Fuhler/Fugler . BTW Megan Beths exist, Beth Fuglers exist, Fuhlers exist..Yellow Na'vis surprisingly don't.

I dreamt that I was with my sister and we got down at 2 different spots from a bus. Then I threw her phone at her so she can contact me. And we attended a wedding. ----Then I dreamt that I dropped my purse and a lil girl (from a group of girls, one of whom looks Indian) handed it back to me.. then I was in a train(looked more like a road trip on the last seat of the bus) with an African guy, a Kashmiri guy, and someone who looks like Iqra/Isra.. We were talking about Antarctica when some guy turns from in front of me and says "guess where i did my arm training?" and the girl next to me doesn't guess so I took a guess for her, that being Antarctica.. Then the couple beside us correct me on it being Arctica , not Antarctica,I think (or the opposite). The girlfriend of the guy gets really comfortable with me and we snuggle together. At some point I learn her name and a lot about her.. She's so adventurous and wild and knowledgeable. Later on, amidst some confusion, I leave the train and end up meeting the child who helped me earlier with my purse. The child says that her phone is dead and is searching for her mother. Weirdly, she can't even remember her mother's name. However, upon helping her I realized that her mother is the girl who sat in the train with me earlier. I try really hard to recall her name but couldn’t. We finally search and find the guy who was with her (still at the back) but he says the girl, Beth, had disappeared although they promised to meet up at the station. At some point we became a 'we' searching for Megan Beth Fuhler/fugler the child and at least 2 other women(one looks like Obama's wife), and even eat creamy pies .At one stage, I even asked if anyone was found at that station dead. Then we used social networks to get info from those who knew her. But still Beth fuhler didn't surface. Then we received a call,from,a guy who claimed he knew her and was with her. However, he then mentioned that she disappeared. His story is quite unbelievable though. According to him, when he informed her of the missing child, she disappeared suddenly, and immediately. By which I mean disappeared from view, like disapparition in Harry Potter. I found this hard to believe.. Yes, she was well versed in stars and astronomy, and geography and enjoyed intelligent talks. But to disappear? Then, the girl next to me said 'yes, disappeared..she's an, alien' and she too morphed into Robin Scherbatsky's blue eyes and disappeared in an instant. Suddenly, knowledge came to me in a flash.. That slender neck,a beautiful yellow color and glitter, glitter. Beth fugler was an alien. That's why she traveled so much. And that's why she disappeared so much. She has many boyfriends, but she had tempted them with easiness , she disappears suddenly and whenever she comes back they still want her, and she had approached them first too.. As I look at her child, I wonder if she's a human child, adopted perhaps, or an alien child oblivious? There are a lot of chunks missing from my story, but that's as much as I can remember, though I know there's more. I had instantly connected with Beth, and thoroughly enjoyed the time with her.. I must have said some things, she must have said even more. But Why cant I remember?? I dreamt that I was with my sister and we got down at 2 different spots from a bus. Then I threw her phone at her so she can contact me.

I always take pride in whatever I write..however today I realized, as I typed something to perfection and pressed ENTER, I should also fear that my writing, eloquent as it can be, can also be too sweet and misguide people..

Robin Williams- the humble man we don't know...And yet, even without knowing you, we hope you didn't choose to die..Because that wouldn't just say that you finally became broken after years of fightingAfter saying:"I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up."?But that we did nothing to help.."Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him," said Steven Spielberg, who directed Williams as Peter Pan in the 1991 film, "Hook."Did we stop laughing?Did we become too demanding?

I refuse to believe it's suicide..I'll always remember you as someone who persevered. Not a coward.

A beautiful view:http://thoughtcatalog.com/anonymous/2014/08/robin-williams-death-is-not-a-tragedy-and-we-should-stop-calling-it-that/

Author

A girl who likes herbs..likes some poetry, but write only once in a blue moon.. she's for ever fascinated by language..a night owl too..loves nature and Man too.. She likes crowds, but only when she can drown in them and be an observer.. ​